Thoughts
by Jessiy Landroz
Summary: Its heartwarming to have a family... [One Shot]


I grinned.

He looks kinda cute that way.

Lazing peacefully on Splinters armchair, his hefty, muscular legs stretched out, his body slumped a little, shell sinking into the softness of his current bedding, one well built arm dangling down, his three, green fingers uncurled as an empty, coffee-stained mug lay on the carpet floor, not a drop on the carpet, while the other arm lay across his chest, securely holding an open book, thumb in the middle so he wont lose the page; his head resting back, half on the backrest of the chair, half on his shoulder, snoring softly.

It seems he fell asleep while reading again, and it's his favorite book, too, so I guess he must've been really tired.

Why wouldn't he? I mean, it's a very early hour in the morning, I think he's been reading it all night, probably insomniac again.

With a smile, I gently, and as quietly as I was taught, preyed the book from his grasp, and his fingers flinched, if only a little, but didn't wake up, his soft snoring wavered just a little as his brow ridges furrowed, wrinkling his mask, but then he soon relaxed, slipping back into dreamland.

I picked up the mug, and then got up, set the mug in the kitchen sink, and then carried the book with me to his bedroom.

I was being careful not to lose the page he was reading, though I know he had already read it more than once, and had already finished it. I stuck my thumb in it, and once in his bedroom, I picked out the usual bookmark and put it in, then left it on his study desk. I collected his blanket and then ventured down, and quietly tucked him in, he stirred only a little, but didn't move, so I smiled, now eyeing the slight wrinkles on his mask.

Yes, he looked so precious, unlike his usual self.

With a slight breath, I ventured to the kitchen, I might as well get breakfast ready.

So with a merry smile, I made way towards the fridge, fishing out some instant pancake dough mix, milk, eggs, chocolate syrup and the usual breakfast martial, and then set the coffee machine to brew the needed drink. With a smile, I flicked the machine on and then turned on the stove, set the frying pan and spatula, and started cooking the pancakes, humming a random song to myself.

Very relaxed and merry, I feel very contended while cooking in this kitchen, I don't know why.

It didn't take long before the aroma filled the kitchen, snuck its way out and towards the living room, and then up towards the bedrooms, and as expected, three merry faces greeted me, the usual '_Good morning!_' and '_What's cooking?_' and, of course '_Man! Something smells great!_' so I greeted them back and kept cooking, pretty much occupied with my work at hand.

It was nice here, being with the family, listening to them greeting each other, settling down around the table, yawning, stretching their limbs and flexing their muscles, chattering and laughing with each other, smiling and having fun with the usual morning teasing. I don't really mind listening to their usual friendly morning banter, it's like a ritual sometimes, and I like it, as long as they don't start getting serious and jump at each others throats.

As usual they all have their habits, and so do I, so I don't really complain, not that much anyway.

I mean, lets start with them one at a time, shall we?

First we have Leonardo. Leo is the proper guy, he's mister perfect, the good guy, the perfect son, mister discipline, the gentlemen, or gen-turtle, whatever floats your boat; the calm, collected and thoughtful member of the group; the all time mastermind and leader of the pack. Although he can be a real, hardheaded, bad-ass jerk sometimes, he usually remains the balanced, well mannered turtle.

At the kitchen table, he rarely makes a sound, honestly.

He uses the twin blades, or twin swords, or twin katana, whatever fits, I don't care, they're all the same with different names, anyway. Though swords are the usual weapon of choice to a samurai, Leo as a ninja, probably carries more respect to honor and tradition than the other three, and that is probably because of Splinter's teachings drummed pretty well into his head.

He is dedicated to his brothers, his father and his family, he trains very hard, harder than any of his brothers, harder than any man could muster, only to perfect his moves, his techniques, to smooth out any flaw in his movements, for the simple and absolute purpose of protecting his loved ones, for he treasures them more than he treasures his own soul.

Blue is the color of calmness and earnest feelings, he's gentle and very, very considerate, even if he does have his bad moments at times.

Then we have Donatello. Don is the shy, gentle and humble genius; he may not show much potential in the usual everyday life, maybe because he's always hiding in his lab, tinkering with gadgets of all shapes and sizes, plus with their advantages and disadvantages, some of them dangerous, some of them aren't, but he can still kick your butt if you underestimate him, or look down on him.

At breakfast, he chatters mostly with Mikey, if it's not about something technology, then he isn't exactly the talkative type.

His weapon of choice is the Bo staff, though seemingly a useless long stick, that was once used by farmers to carry buckets of water, this so said useless-stick is quiet deadly in his skilled hands, especially when he is angry, and if I may say, that rarely happens, for he is usually very calm and collected, more so collected and composed than Leo could ever be.

He can render any opponent in seconds, sending them off their feet, easily defeated like blowing the flame off a candlewick. He could strike you in very dangerous areas, unlike pressure points, these areas when hit with the very tip of his staff, could practically puncturing your blood cycle, if not stopping it completely, he could knock you out temporarily, if not permanently.

He is very protective of his brothers as well, and tends to spend as much time in his lab, tinkering with his medical equipment for any possible need, to provide all he can to ensure their safety, since he is very skilled in ninjutsu, unlike Leo, he doesn't spend extra hours in the dojo, for physical labor isn't exactly his best point, for he would rather use his brain than his brawn in order to protect his family and loved ones.

Purple is a soft, tender color, sometimes used to describe passionate, sometimes depressed, or shy personalities, and I think the color fits him quite well.

After that we have Raphael, who is currently sleeping deeply still in Splinters armchair. Raph is usually rowdy, rough and plain bad to the bone, he yells and throws a fit almost at anyone and anything that does not agree with him, he's rebellious and tends to pick a fight with Leo when he grows angry, for he does not like to be controlled by rules, and does not allow anyone to be the boss over him.

Yet, though he is almost the opposite of Leo, everyone knows he's as gentle and sweet as a summer breeze inside, and as loving as a parent to his child, though he hates being called a nice guy, or described as anything near being kind, he finds it embarrassing to show compassion, as a rough and gruff male turtle, much less receive any compassion, even from his father, brothers or friends.

During breakfast, he only comments and taunts if he's up on the wrong side of the hammock, other than that, he's just drinking his coffee quietly.

His weapon is the sai, they're not exactly blades, but as deadly as they are, in his hands they're even deadlier! He is very skilled and could stab you with his weapon, blade or no blade, like a fork in a slice of tenderized meat! He's rough, bloody and gory to the core, he will ruthlessly and mercilessly, pummels any offending opponent to the floor, drowning and chocking in their own pool of blood.

But deep inside, he does it in such a gruesome, frightening and bloody way, for he wished to warn those outsiders, to tell them to keep away from his family, to never come anywhere near his loved ones, for he will hunt them down and hurt them badly if they do, to make them live their lives forever looking over their shoulders in fear, quivering and shaking their legs in horror, in anticipating terror of his arrival, for if they do harm one of his brothers, to draw out one single drop of blood, that he will hunt them down and make them pay, and pay dearly, with blood!

Red is the color of love, it is also the color of hate and blood, a very erecting color, yet very exciting, a balance between compassion and hurt.

Last but not least, we have Michelangelo. Mikey is the child in the group, the gentle, kindhearted, loving and cute, though silly and funny goofball. He has a heart of gold, and would rather hurt himself physically and mentally, and keep it hidden very well deep inside, under layers and layers of smiles and joyous laughter, than to share it with anyone for any reason, for he treasures his family very deeply, and he knows he could never go a day without any of them.

Having breakfast, he's the most talkative member, for he believes sharing a friendly morning chat is the best way to start the day.

The nunchucks aren't exactly the safest, nor most powerful type of weapon one would use, not a ninja as far as I could tell; with their quick, slick and tricky rotating motions, I do believe they fit him best than any other weapon could, for they are very dangerous in the hands of an non skilled player, because they tend to smack you if you twirl them uncaringly, or un-accordingly, mainly because you need to master their weight and rotating speed or else you'll just end up hurting yourself.

Come to think about it, I don't think I've ever seen Mikey knock himself silly with his little babies, anyway; well… maybe just once.

Orange is the color of excitement and energetic motion, it is also a very bright and interesting color, it bubbles with joy, just like him I guess.

Soon, Splinter joins us, and I greet him, smiling happily.

The old master is as humble as always, greeting us all with his calm voice, his fatherly smile, with his gentle brown eyes and graying fur, his tiny little ears and twitching whiskers, his accent oddly speaks with high respect, and as much as I didn't really like rats when younger, I'm beginning to see that they aren't really that bad, actually, thanks to Splinter, I find them quite adorable at times.

With his fatherly presence, quietly sipping on his tea, I feel so much at peace, and I feel like I'm a little girl, back home again.

Like a master, his weapons of choice are his own bare hands and intelligent mind, he needs no weapon, aside his walking stick to discipline his troublesome sons, though he rarely uses it, if only to rap their skulls when they're being impudent and restless, he is always the gentle, caring and considerate father, a real human with all the meaning of the word, and even I cant come to a fitting description.

Grey is a balance between back and white, and a very calming color that you can blend right in, and fit with almost any other color.

Standing here preparing the last patch of pancakes, I smile at my little adopted family, and I feel glad I met them, grateful that I met them actually; with their different personalities, their varied characters and their opposite moods, their differently leveled smiles, frowns and their kindness, I don't think I would have ever found a better place to call home, for I know deep inside, no matter where I could try and look, I will never find a place quite like this one.

This is my home at heart, and somehow, I know we all belong here, together.

With a loud yawn, Raphael arrives, tiredly rubbing the back of his neck, grumbling and complaining about the racket Mikey was making, fussing over the last drop of chocolate syrup, but Raph just ignores him, walks past me whispering the gentlest, ever so quite '_Thank you._' Faintly brushing his fingertips over my bent elbow, and continues towards the coffee machine, pours himself a mug of hot, freshly brewed coffee, seats himself down for breakfast, adds cream, and starts sipping in contentment on his drink, now foul mood tossed aside, he starts to relax, he shares a smile with his brothers.

With a hidden smile, I say nothing, for there is no need for words between us.

Once done with the pancakes, I settle down with them, and we all enjoy a happy little meal.

Leo and Splinter having their usual green tea, drinking it quietly, listening to the usual banter and chatter tossed about the table top. Don and Mikey having hot cocoa, although it varies with Don, sometimes he has cocoa, others he has coffee, while Mikey has either cocoa or chocolate, depends if he's in the mood for something sweet or bitter, for he admits he never could grow to like the bitter taste of coffee, he even asked how we can stand the taste, it puzzles him how anyone could drink something so bitter and still enjoy it.

Raph usually taunt his baby brother, by saying only adults have coffee for breakfast, or throughout the day, while kids don't understand the delight the drink provides, and that's enough to make Mikey pout; but then Mikey would recover, and then would retort playfully, and claim that Raphael is such a caffeine addict, it's the reason he grew into such an insomniac, and has a hard time sleeping, for he's got too much caffeine in his blood, and that's probably how his temper started, for lack of sleep makes him grouchy.

'_I bet if we poke a hole into you, we won't get blood, instead, we'll just find coffee running through your veins!_' Mikey once teased.

Ignoring him, Raph and I had the usual dose of black coffee, except Raph likes his treat with little cream, not too sweet, just what's enough to make the bitter taste he likes so much, just a tad bit more bearable. I like my coffee black, I don't know why, I don't like it being sweet, it feels strange when Raph or Mikey tease me by adding cream to my coffee, but I don't complain, I drink it anyway.

I like this kind of morning, just the four of us, together, having a normal, family breakfast.

With no fussing, cursing or tension floating about, no problem irking our lives, it's just us as a happy family.

With four guys like them, I love this family, I could never dream of having it any other way.

They're my little brothers, and like a big sister, I will protect them.

Because I love them all, I love them more than they could possibly imagine.

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**-END-**

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A/N: Just a fuzzy little one shot, it's obvious who's talking here, huh, though I never mentioned who… review please!


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